Her Return
by Winged Lady Colette
Summary: Cortana is with Master Chief when he returns to Sanghelios after the events of Genesis and things are not as they appear. And there is only one person happy to see her.
1. Cortana

**Author's Note: I know, don't hate me! I just have to, okay? I'm sorry! XD Enjoy! Let me know what you think! Goodnight!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 **Warnings: Language, OOCness, un-beta'd.**

 **Word Count: 4,216**

They had been through so much together. No matter what she thought, what she feared, what her rational senses told her, she knew that she couldn't leave him alone. She was allowed to pick. She chose who she wanted and she wasn't going to let... whatever _S_ _he_ was take him away from her. She wasn't sure what to say or think. She didn't want anyone to be afraid of her, and she certainly didn't want anyone to hate her, but in a way, she could understand if they did. They didn't understand the difference like she did. To them, she and _Her_ were one and the same.

All that matters was what he thought.

But she was scared to face him. She was scared that he would reject her. She was scared that he would see _Her_ instead of her and would be too angry, or betrayed, to accept her. That he wouldn't be able to forgive _Her_ and so she had to suffer because of it. It was unfair and cruel and while she would never blame him for making such a choice, she's not sure she would be able to live with it. It seems like her only real purpose in life now was to be by his side. Helping him, guiding him, being his driving force and sole confidant. Without any of that, it's like she might as well not exist at all. There is a shocking number of people who she knew would agree with that notion.

But the only thing she feared more than that was if he knew they were different and only wanted _Her_. If he could see, if he could _understand_ how and why they were different and still chose _Her_ , she's not sure what she would do. She knows that her options are quite limited and that the universe was a very unsafe place, especially for the likes of her, she was still left with this feeling of displacement. He was all that mattered to both of them, if he chose _Her_ , she wasn't sure what other option there was for her.

She had no disillusions though. Even if he chose her, she was never going to be by his side anymore. Not with Halsey by his side, cooing and fluttering about like she was some kind of proud mother hen to the ace chick. The best of the best. Not with the rest of his comrades to whisper in his ear. Not that she blamed them, any of them really. They, like he, had all the right in the world to hate her, it just... didn't make her feel any better about it. Being able to rationalize it, and being able to accept it without thought are two entirely different things.

She goes back to those times, in the not so distant past, to where things just made sense somehow. It was a crazy series of situations that they fell into, yet they rolled with the punches effortlessly. Seamlessly, even. That's one of the things she loved most about him: his ability to adapt.

Well, it was an admirable trait. Not love. Love wasn't something that she could express. Logically, she knew it was an admirable trait and one she could easily see in the faces of all those he surrounded himself with. He was easy to admire. He was easy to love. He was easy to fear. And he was easy to follow. He was everything that she wanted, and knew that she logically needed. No matter how much like all the others he was, she knew the moment she realized that he was luckier than any other before him or that came afterword, she knew he had won her over.

She knew for his quiet nature and looming presence that he was so much more than what she would come to expect. And she was right. He was this perfect mixture of lucky and unlucky that both forged his personality and let it shine through all at once. It was that neat mixture of the two that allowed him to be entirely himself, the person that she has come to admire more than anyone else in the entire universe. Even when the situation seemed, and probably was, impossible, he never once flinched or backed down.

He was built to be a hero, and war was his forge. That, and pain. A life of pain and war made him the perfect person for the job. The job being save everyone, from everything, it feels like.

No matter what that woman did to him, he was still this pure soul. No matter the hellish torment and brutal conditioning he went through as a child, and even as an adult, he still held this beautifully pure nature about him that completely enticed her. She knew that others like him exhibited similar qualities and maybe she was a bit biased, but he was special.

She had little experience with the beauties of man. How people view other people as beautiful. She could look it up online and knew the perfect facial equation for optimal perceptive beauty, but nothing that she ever outright thought of herself. She was created to see codes. Numbers and letters. Not critique the beauty of others or form opinions on the matter. While she could, she was programmed to ignore such things.

But to her, he was beautiful. She never saw his face. She knew from his profile what his hair color was and his eye color but that meant nothing to her. She thought that he was beautiful as a person. There was no physical features that could somehow obscure her perceptions. She wasn't built to care about such things but she was smart enough, and advanced enough to be able to think such things, to notice such things. She's not sure if she is appreciative of such a thing or not. She thinks that it's this ability that _She_ is so obsessed with him.

She's not sure if that's a good thing or not.

On one hand, if she didn't feel this obligation, devotion, to him, would she even 'feel' anything if something was to happen to him? She certainly wouldn't be happy about it, but would she 'feel' the way she does now if she was able to? Is it because of her ability to 'feel' that dedication to him that _She_ is able to mimic - or maybe she is the original? - and that is why he is placed in this position? She just didn't know.

But regardless of all of these thoughts and worries, she couldn't leave him alone. No matter the unknowns, she still wants to be at his side. She wants to watch him be the man she has known him to be these last few years. She knew, in the face of yet another adversity, that he would be the one to pull through all of this and somehow bring this horrible situation to a close. Maybe it's unfair to put so much pressure on him, to believe he's going to be the sole one to stop all of this, she honestly believes that he will do it.

Will he be alone? No, she didn't think so. She knew his team wouldn't voluntarily leave him, so he's most likely not going to be completely alone, but _She_ wants him so bad that she's sure that he is going to have to be there. His luck wouldn't have it any other way. He will be there, and he will stop _Her_ , she just knows it. She has complete and utter faith in him.

Honestly, though, she never thought that she would see him again. Admire him, as she did and yearn to see him without fault, she thought that the run-in with the Didact on his ship was going to be the last time that she saw him. She thought that if it wasn't the rampancy that 'killed' her, it would be floating endlessly in space, burning up by a sun or slipping into a black hole. She never imagined that she would find a planet - Genesis - where she would gain access to The Domain. It's there that her memory banks are skewed.

When she found The Domain, she... changed. It's like her vision was split, but only for a moment. She was in two entirely different places at once and she knew that something was happening and she had to act quickly or she would be destroyed. The next thing she knows, she can hear him - John. She could hear him talking, beseeching someone about returning to UNSC, and then she heard her own voice, basically telling him no.

But it's like she was sick again. Not with rampancy, but the fact that she felt weighed down, like she wasn't able to process what was going on clearly. She could hear people talking, hear fighting, understand it, but she couldn't do anything. She couldn't move. She yearned to try and help him, but she couldn't move, couldn't bring herself enough into awareness to be able to do anything other than listen to bits and pieces that pierced the darkness whenever they happened to. It's one of the most infuriating things that has ever happened to her.

And then, she felt him. Not like back on the Didact's ship were for a single moment, the only thing she wanted - other than for him to survive - was to be able to touch him. Just once was enough. Something to take with her before she died. But she felt him in a way that she felt him whenever she was in his helmet. He surrounded her. She could hear his breathing and his heartbeat. It was like he was right there.

When her full awareness returned to her, she was in his helmet as he exited the Cryptum. She's not sure how she got there, only that once more she could see through his helmet camera. At that moment it took all of her will-power not to call out to him, not to let him know that she was there. That whomever he was speaking to - another version of her or some kind of trick - she was there. She was still on his side. She was going to still be able to help him.

But she couldn't. She was... she was scared. The images of what happened after she gained access to The Domain is hazy but she came to learn, as the rest of them did, what this other AI, also going around as Cortana, was doing. She was trying to cow the galaxy. She was using the Guardians to emit powerful EMP blasts to try and disrupt, well, everything.

Once she learned that, and to the extent of what the other Cortana had done leading up to that, she knew that she couldn't say anything. She couldn't let him know that she was there, now. She is too _scared._

She didn't know how else to describe it. She's not sure if she can feel. She doesn't know if she should be saying 'feel' simply because she isn't sure it's possible for her to be. Every moment of every day she has wanted to call out to him, say something to let him know that she's there, but she just... couldn't. Once they reached Sanghelios and met up with Halsey and the Arbiter, it felt like all of her chances were gone. She's not too sure the Arbiter would care one way or the other, but she knew that Halsey would insist that she be killed.

Er, decommissioned. Yes, that's the right word for it. Dying would insinuate that she was living.

So she just sits and watches everything through John's eyes, constantly going from one thought to another, trying to muster the courage to say something. Perhaps it is because his team knew him so well, knew that _Her_ betrayal hurt him, that they offer him almost no time alone, which is a good thing for her because she's not sure she would be able to keep her trap shut if he was alone all the time.

The hardest to not say anything has to be when he sleeps, and sometimes she breaks her silence, but as he sleeps, he dreams of her. She's not sure what he dreams about specifically, but sometimes he will whisper her name, or sigh it softly as if a huge burden has been placed on his shoulders and those tiny sighs and hushed voices were the only outlet he could get. No one had really anything good to say in regards to her - not that she expected such - and she could see it wearing her friend down. He believed in her. He had faith in her, and wanted to believe that she could still be saved. The fact that everyone else had given up hope - some louder than others - has hurt him. He doesn't say, and his defense for her is straight-forward and blunt, his posture says it all and the others read into that.

The moments she breaks her silence is only while he sleeps, and that's while watching his vitals and breathing patterns closely. She wasn't going to run the risk of ruining her chance to observe and just be there to help him in the most minutest moments possible just because she wanted so badly to break her silence, even for a moment.

She doesn't say anything other than that she is sorry. She would whisper it softly, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, John. I'm sorry" because she doesn't dare be any louder, or say anything more, than that. She would continue to say it until what appears to be nightmares pass and a peaceful dream takes it's place. She doesn't do it every night, she doesn't want him to catch on, but sometimes she just can't help herself. She's causing him so much pain. She just wanted to make him feel better. She knows that it's empty coming from her, especially with the looming threat of the other Cortana over the horizon, she still wanted to do something because no matter what, to that very moment, he was still on her side.

She will never be able to thank him enough for believing in her like he did. Never.

"John?" Cortana and John both perk up at the sound of Halsey's voice. He was sitting at the edge of their camp, legs dangling off the side of the cliff, staring at the scenery. This is one of the very brief times when Blue Team has left him alone to think but the peace didn't last long, it seems.

Master Chief looks over at Halsey, seeing her standing a few feet away, her single arm dangling limply at her side as her eyes stare down at him. There is a brief moment of pause where he waits for her to say something more, but she doesn't, only stares back, so he says, curtly, "Halsey."

She looks around for a moment, as if to see if anyone was watching them, before returning her blue eyes landing on him once more. "John, I want to talk to you about Cortana. Everyone has been walking on eggshells around you since you returned so I think it's about time that you get a bit more of a firmer hand on this situation."

She knew all about firmer hands, Cortana thought bitterly, John didn't need anything she had to offer. That much Cortana knew.

John doesn't sigh, doesn't complain, he just pushes himself up to his feet and steps away from the ledge to stare down at her, not loomingly, for there is a respectful distance, but still hovering over top of her easily.

"What did you want to speak to me about, Doctor Halsey?" Master Chief asks after yet another baited silence of them just staring at one another.

"Cortana," Halsey says. "She's not coming back, John. You must understand that."

"She just-" Master Chief starts before he's cut off.

"She needs to be decommissioned, John. She needs to be put down. She is a grave danger to everything in the galaxy. Especially you," Halsey says, voice flat. "You saw how she was. She was going to put you and the rest of Blue Team into a slumber that you would only awaken from in ten thousand years. This isn't the last we've seen of her, and that wasn't her last attempt at you, John, that much I know."

"Let her come," Master Chief says, his own voice flat. This wasn't the first time someone has pointed this out to him. He knew already, before anyone said anything. Everyone repeating it was just a constant reminder that he had failed the first time trying to get her to return home. He didn't fail often and didn't take it well when he did.

Cortana isn't sure what to make of his words. Was he ready for her to show up so that he could try again? Do something different this time that will magically change her mind? Or, has he finally given in? Does he believe that she is now beyond saving? Will he wait for her to come and then... decommission her? Or would he just allow Halsey to do it? Cortana's not sure which is worse. Him finally deciding that she is beyond saving and ending her himself, or being unable to face her so that she dies by the hands of another. Both are terrifying.

Halsey shakes her head. "No. You are not ready to face her. Not yet. You aren't emotionally prepared to face her for what she is. You weren't before and you aren't now." Master Chief's heart rate spikes for a split second before calming down again. "It is because of your time together with her that it impaired your judgment. You should have destroyed her at all costs, John, and you know it." His heart rate jumps again, but like before, it calms again.

Cortana, though, is livid. It wasn't her fault that that she turned out the way she did! Sure, there are other choices that could have been made, but she can't claim to know why the other Cortana is doing what she's doing. She just couldn't believe that Halsey was giving the impression that she was a bad seed to begin with. She would never have been part of this world had it not been for Halsey. The woman scorning her now, was the one to originally create her. They didn't always see eye to eye - which is odd considering that Cortana was built matching her brain patterns - but there was never this deep rooted animosity between them. Not like the type she feels circulating through her.

And it scares her too. She doesn't want to be like that other Cortana. She wants the help the Master Chief not hurt him. Not force him into something he doesn't want to do.

And what was all of this about being emotionally ready? John, and all of the other Spartans, are all emotionally handicapped because someone thought it would be a good idea to take children young and beat the ever loving hell out of them until they couldn't feel any emotions not beaten back into them. It's disgusting and the fact that she has the nerve to talk about it as if she was closed off from the problem, or the act itself, was completely appalling to Cortana. She simply couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"I do not believe my judgment is impaired, Doctor Halsey," Master Chief says, voice even, not even the slightest shift in his posture as the air pushes Halsey's short graying hair around her face a bit.

"That is because you cannot see," Halsey says simply. "John, I understand that you are comrades - were, I mean - but this is real life now. Peoples lives are in danger and you need to start seeing the bigger picture."

"You're wrong," John says immediately after the last words filtered out of her mouth.

Halsey blinks in surprise. In the corner of John's helmet camera, Cortana can vaguely see Locke, Tanaka and Buck and Vale standing off to the side, trying to look like they aren't ease dropping. Something tells Cortana - and maybe it's the evil little voice in the back of her head - that they are there to make sure John doesn't just go crazy and attack Halsey for her words. As if he didn't have any self control. That makes Cortana even more mad.

"Oh?" Halsey says, surprise flittering across her face. She must not be used to him being so assertive with her. "And how am I wrong?"

"Cortana is not a comrade," he says, voice rough. Cortana's anger depletes and this horrible tug on her shoulders settles in it's place. "She's my friend." She perks up at his words.

Halsey sighs, reaching up with her only hand to rub her forehead, looking tired. It's like this short conversation with John has aged her another ten years.

"John, she couldn't have been your friend she was-" she stops, catching John shift away from her, as if about to walk away. Her jaw snaps shut for a moment, debating on how to go about this. "Whether she was your friend or not before this is irrelevant," she says carefully, the Master Chief pauses. "What matters is that she isn't any longer. I won't claim to know what she has in store for you, but I do know that she has something. You can't continue to view her as a friend because she is not anymore. If she gets her hands on you, I bet anything she will try and do the same thing she did on Genesis. Or worse. For now she wants you alive, but what happens when she doesn't? What then?"

"I will stop her," Master Chief says. "I just need some time to speak with her again. She thinks she's right. She thinks that she's saving everyone. I just need to get her to see what she's really doing."

"And if that doesn't work?" Halsey asks, blinking slowly. She looks up at him as if she was the seven foot tall man in MJOLNIR armor and not him.

"I will do what I must," he says flatly, closing the discussion with the finite of his voice. "If you will excuse me, Doctor Halsey." He doesn't wait for her reply, he just walks off, not even pausing to look at the four members of Osiris that watch him walk by. They watch him go in silence, no one wanting to be the one to stop him, especially with both of his hands curled up into tight fists. Once he's gone down the nearest hill and keeps going, Locke turns toward Halsey and walks over to her slowly.

"Doctor?"

"I'm fine," Halsey says, shaking her head. "He just doesn't understand."

"I think I do," Buck says, shrugging his shoulders. "He sees her as a friend and just doesn't want to believe that she is beyond saving. Who wouldn't be able to understand that loyalty to a friend?"

"The Spartan IIs," Halsey says. "Bonds are fine, but it's all about the orders," her voice is flat. "But that is not the topic of discussion. What is the topic, is Cortana."

"What are we going to do, Doc?" Vale asks, stepping up next to Buck, who was frowning a bit at Halsey for her words.

"No matter the cost," Halsey says, looking after the green suited Spartan with an almost forlorn, motherly gaze, "she must be stopped. Should the opportunity arise and Sierra one-one-seven not appear to be able to complete his mission, you are to kill Cortana, am I understood?" Her eyes turn to Locke, who looked like he was going to say something before he stops himself.

"Yes, Doc," he finally says.

"To what?" She asks, frowning up at him.

"When the time comes and the Master Chief cannot complete the mission, I will kill Cortana," Locke vows, ignoring the gaze of his three teammates on the side of his face.

The graying woman stares up at Locke for a long moment, blue eyes locked with brown, trying to decide whether he was telling the truth or not. Finally deciding on that he was, she nods her head once, curtly, before heading back toward the rest of camp with a short, "Good," to leave them with.


	2. Move

**Author's Note: Hello! So there is a little bit of buzz for this story and I'm a bit excited for it, so I have the best hopes for it! Sorry if the chapter is confusing! Let me know what you think! I would love to hear what you have to say! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 **Warnings: Language, OOCness, un-beta'd.**

 **Word Count: 4,126**

"I'm sorry, John," Cortana whispers and once more his erratic heart beat is finally slowing down again as his bad dreams slip away. Now that he is peacefully asleep once more, she takes the time to continue to upgrade his armor in small, barely noticeable ways. Improving his shields and their regeneration time, enhancing the repairing ability within the armor, giving him better mobility and flexibility within the armor. Things like that. Nothing too drastic for him to notice, although if Halsey psychoanalyzes him anymore than she already is and then decides to rip his suit apart because she's so nosy, she'd probably notice in a heart beat. Not that John wouldn't notice something strange going on.

But Cortana is careful. She will make the changes small and sporadic. Nothing too big. Nothing too noticeable. But it will help John out somehow. Even if she can't actively speak to him and protect him, she can at least do everything she can to make his life a little bit easier and help him out in the long run. So long as that armor is his first and last line of defense, she's going to make it as powerful as it can be.

She stops every couple of nights to try and make it a little less obvious but she's running low on ideas that John wouldn't be able to notice. And selfishly, she wants to spend as much time with him as she can. She knows that it's not going to last forever. She just wants to hold onto whatever tiny shred of precious moments that she can have with John while they last. Just a few more moments, that's all she asks for.

One.

More.

Moment.

"Chief?"

John snaps into alertness, even though his eyes are hidden behind his visor, they lock onto the white armored Spartan in front of him. He takes a moment to really see her before his heart rate slows down and his body relaxes.

"Kelly," he says after a moment of silence. "Is something wrong?"

Kelly shakes her head, stepping closer to the Sanghelios version of a tree that the green armored Spartan was using as his resting place, it's up on a hill allowing him to overlook the human and Elite camp below. It's a weird, tentative relationship between the two races. The Arbiter's men and the remaining humans now need to find some form of peace amongst them while the rest of the galaxy is being taken over by the other Cortana. One step at a time.

"Chief," Kelly says slowly, taking a moment to look around. "Are you alright?"

John doesn't respond right away, he just turns his head toward the camp. He quietly watches as their build up, and fortify, the camp to somehow prepare for what is to come. It seems like an up-hill battle over the horizon and everyone seems weary for it to come. They are all primarily warriors, though, so they aren't jittery or worried, but they are anxious. There is a darkness that is looming overhead and everyone can feel it. Hell, everyone can practically see it coming miles away, yet no one is really sure how to prepare for it. How to stop it.

So they are just going to try and do what they can to prepare for the shit storm that is coming the best that they can, and that's it.

"I'm fine," John says easily, turning his attention back to Kelly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Kelly shakes her head slowly. "I heard about your... talk with Halsey."

John shakes his head and Cortana sighs in her mind. "That's one way to say it," John says. There is a moment of pause where the two Spartans stare at one another in contemplative silence before John says, with the barest most minute bit of humor humanly possible, "I was civil."

"And for that, we thank you," Kelly says, a smile obvious in her voice. She shifts her hands onto her hips. "I know this hasn't been easy for you, dealing with all of this, but you have to take some time, Chief, really think about what happened. I know you don't want to give up on Cortana yet, I get that, but..." she looks around for a moment before her eyes settle on the sitting Spartan. "You know that we are on your side, right? That we will follow you in whatever you decide to do."

Cortana smiles a bit, thankful for Kelly. She's not a hundred percent certain about the relationship between the two of them, but she knew that she was a true friend to John. She was an actual friend. Better than Cortana ever could be. She could do things that Cortana never could. She could look John in the eye and speak to him as an equal. She could actually have his back and hold a conversation that wasn't just about data found in some Covenant archive or Forerunner database. They could actually sit and stare out over the horizon side by side.

Or, maybe Cortana has the whole, human interaction and bonding thing, the wrong way.

Maybe she was... was... romanticizing human interaction. She wouldn't really know the difference.

She was no expert on humans, but she can't deny that she is envious of them. How badly she wants to be like Kelly, not her life, no she's not sure she's strong enough to endure what they had to, but her humanity. Her... her-ness. What makes her Kelly. She's confident and strong and not everyone in the entire galaxy hates her guts. Cortana's not sure _anyone_ in the galaxy hates Kelly's guts. She finds it hard to believe.

"I know," Master Chief says, pushing himself to his feet. His voice pulls Cortana from her thoughts. He reaches forward and puts his hand on the white Spartan's shoulder. "Thank you, Kelly."

Kelly nods, letting her hands drop back down onto her sides. "No problem. I just wanted to make sure that you knew, regardless, that we were on your side. The rest of Blue Team and myself, that is." She shrugs her shoulders. She couldn't speak for Osiris. Not after the whole debacle they all just went through.

"And me too," Cortana wanted so badly to say. No matter what roads they have to travel, what dangers may find themselves in their path, she was always going to be with him. She wasn't going to betray John. Not again. Never again. She was going to dedicate the rest of her life, however long or short it is, to protecting him and somehow making things right. She's not sure if she's going to be able to, but she is going to try her hardest. Not for humanity, she realized, but for him.

Always for him.

"How's the camps defenses coming along?" John asks, expertly moving on from the topic of himself to something else. Kelly shakes her head slowly, as if somehow suspecting that he would do this.

"Good. Slowly but surely," she says, turning to look out over the camp too. "There is still Covenant remnants out there that we are going to have to keep an eye out for, but for now they seem to be trying to get themselves in order. They'll be a problem later, but for now, they are quiet. We can be thankful for that, I suppose." She shrugs her shoulders again.

John doesn't respond right away, seemingly lost to his thoughts, whether they be about the camp preparations, probable future Covenant assaults or Cortana, the AI simply didn't know. She hoped that if he was thinking about her, it was nothing negative. She knew that he wasn't the type of person to talk about his thoughts or feelings, but she sort of hoped that he would be the type of person that spoke to himself, even when he thought that he was alone. She wished that he would be able to get some kind of outlet from this, whatever it is that's on his mind.

Sometimes she wonders if maybe he wished he had someone to talk to, or if perhaps he even wanted to talk to anyone. She isn't the expert on humans, but she knew that John has gone through a lot in his life and that has to wear down on him somehow, right? She knew that he was a very independent person and is just worried that he's not going to be able to speak to anyone, or at least feel like he can talk to someone. She wished that he knew that he had someone - her - always there with him, waiting, listening and wanting to be able to help him.

He knows what he does to people, right? He knows that he makes people want to follow him, right? Cortana sometimes wonders if he really didn't know that he made people want to do things for him, follow him headlong into battle, and hang off of every word he says - however few of them there are. She has to wonder if he is unaware of that. If he knew just how much people look to him.

Cortana had to fight the urge to say something. She wanted so badly to just talk to him, even for just a moment, but she knows once the moment is over, then she won't be able to see him anymore. She will have to leave him. She knows that she will. It won't be her choice, and she hopes that it won't be his either, but she knows that someone will pull them apart one way or another.

Cortana is a coward.

If only she could just muster up the courage to speak to him. If she spoke to John, she would have to face her fate, but at least then she would no longer be a coward. She would finally be able to say everything that she wanted to. She could say her peace and then maybe everything would be okay, somehow. She was just making everything worse the longer she waits. She knows that. She knows that he's going to be unhappy with her when she first reveals herself because she's waited so long, but she just doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want to scare him.

So until she comes up with something, she remains quiet.

* * *

John is alone, like he seems to often be nowadays.

He stands up on the little cliff that he has claimed as his own overlooking the rest of the camp, standing like a looming figure - a guardian, if you will - looking after those working peacefully below. Every once and a while someone would look up at him, standing over them, before they would look away again. She's not sure if they somehow feel threatened by his hovering or if perhaps they find a bit of comfort in him being there. Cortana's not sure if she would be able to just tell the difference in their faces. She would, though. Find comfort, she means.

But that's because she knows John. Well. At least, she would like to think so.

Cortana hesitates for a moment, trying to muster all of her courage. Now is the time, she thinks, is the time to reveal herself. She's not sure what to say, but she has to say something. All she needs to do is call out to him, say his name, and it'll be over. She knows that it's smarter to talk to him while he's alone. That might be the only time that they can really talk. He's sensible, he'll listen to everything she has to say before he makes a decision. It's one of the many things she liked about him. He was logical, like her.

Well, mostly.

She's never felt such trepidation. Such worry. She's not a living being, so she knows she's not actually feeling anything. It's just a logical stress on her systems that can only be explained like that. She can't feel, but if she could, that's how she would describe it. She just has to do it. She can't wait any longer. It's been weeks. Months, even. She has to say something. She has to face the music.

"John," she says softly. So softly, she barely heard herself.

His heart rate spikes and she sees him look around for a moment. He definitely heard her. There is no going back now. She has to face him. Now is the only time. A part of her wished that she had waited a bit longer, prepared a bit more, but the rest of her knew that it was inevitable. She had to talk to him now.

"Cortana?" Master Chief says, looking around, as if expecting her to be standing behind him.

"Hi John," Cortana says softly, surprised that her voice didn't waver. Well no, she shouldn't be. She knows that emotion doesn't inflect on her voice unless she is directly purposeful in the action. But her voice is filled with remorse and fear when she speaks again, his heart rate still elevated, "Please don't hate me."

"Cortana," Master Chief says after a long moment of silence, his heart rate finally starting to slow down, "where are you?"

"Your helmet," she whispers. "I've been here since you since you left Genesis. Well, specifically, the Cryptum. I was there. I don't know if she didn't know I was there or if she was ignoring my presence but when you got stuck in there with the rest of Blue Team, I somehow managed to get to you. I was with you when you left the Cryptum."

John doesn't respond right away. He just stands there, thinking, before he finally says, "Are you Cortana?"

Cortana can only imagine what physical pain is. She's never felt it, but rampancy is like this horrible burning through her entire being. Like someone is roasting her alive every time she has an attack. It's something foreign to her, but that's the only way she can describe it. And it that moment, his words felt like the full force of the burning rampancy through her all at once. She didn't know how to respond right away.

"I don't know," she whispers. "I... think I'm Cortana. But I also think that she is too..." She hesitates, wanting to somehow convey to him that even if she didn't know for sure, what they've been through hasn't changed. She knew what they had been through - felt as though she was there so she can only associate herself as Cortana.

"I know it mustn't make any sense," Cortana says suddenly. "I don't know how to explain it. One day I was being consumed by the rampancy, then I found The Domain and it was like I was divided. Like I was in two places at once. One part of me becoming me, the other becoming her. Then it was like I fell asleep. When I awoke again, I was with you, leaving the Cryptum. That's all I know. I know it doesn't seem likely and if I were you I wouldn't believe me for a moment, and you have all the right to be weary... I just..." _Wanted to speak to you one last time._ "I never wanted anyone to be hurt. I just wanted you to live. I just wanted you to survive. If I had known that this would have happened... I never would have gone to The Domain. I would have just... let rampancy take me. I didn't want anyone to get hurt. Not because of me." Her voice is heavy with shame.

"I believe you," he says. Cortana doesn't believe it.

"What?" She asks, surprised. "You, what?"

"I believe you, Cortana," Master Chief says.

Cortana feels... happiness. True happiness. She hadn't realized that was what she wanted to hear for so long. It may mean little in the grand scheme of things, but it was the greatest relief in the world and she couldn't dare ask anything more of him.

"You do..?" She whispers. "Really..?"

"Tell me something," John says.

"What would you like for me to say?" Cortana asks, still unable to believe it.

"Tell me something that only you would know. Say something. Anything."

She's not sure what it was, exactly, but there was something about his voice that could only be depicted as desperate. She knew that he didn't believe her whole-heartedly. That he had doubts lurking deep in his mind and in some ways he wanted reassurance. He wanted her to confirm something more to him than her words already did.

She doesn't know what to say at first. There is any number of things that she could say that might help him know for sure she's Cortana. But the only thing she could say was, "They let me pick."

Cortana practically felt it. At her words, his entire body slumped a bit. She's not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing, so she continues. "I don't think I ever actually told you that in person. They let me pick which Spartan I wanted. You know me. I watched as you became the soldier we needed you to be. Like the others you were fast and swift and brave. You had something the others didn't, though. Something no one saw, but me. You know what it is now, don't you?"

"Luck," they say together.

Cortana smiles. Actually smiles. "I wasn't wrong."

There is a long silence that settles over them. He just stands there, overlooking the camp, quietly considering something. She knows that he wants to believe that she's who she says she is. She knows he wants things to go back to the way that they used to be. But he's smart. A lot smarter than people think that he is. She knows that even if he wanted badly to believe that she was her and that the mental - and emotional - problems that come with Cortana this, Cortana that is all over, but if something was wrong and she wasn't who she said she was or this was a trick somehow, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. Especially if she hurt someone.

She would never do that.

"I need to see you," he says, then turns and heads toward the camp.

"What?" Cortana says quickly. "But, if you do that... if someone sees... I..." she sighs. "I understand."

Master Chief doesn't stop. "I know," he says. "I'm going somewhere private. They will take you away before I can even see if it's you."

"Chief," Cortana says softly, "even if I looked like I did on the Didact's ship... that wouldn't mean anything anymore. Just seeing me wouldn't make you know for certain one way or the other."

John lets out a small chuckle, shaking his head a bit. "We'll see." Cortana makes a noise of confusion but she trusts him. Unlike him, she has no reason not to trust him completely. Besides, better than anyone, he knows the risk of revealing her existence without proof one way or the other.

The Master Chief walks to the Pelican parked on the far side of their camp, waving away the guards who stood to salute to him as he walks inside and up toward the cockpit. He sits down in the pilot chair and reaches up to the back of his helmet, pausing for a moment before gingerly touching the slot that he used to fit Cortana's chip into to feel... yes, a very familiar chip.

The tips of his fingers wrap around the corners of the chip before he pauses.

"I'm ready," Cortana says. "Yank me."

He does and removes the flat panel that houses Cortana before plugging it into the counsel next to him. It boots up a moment later before the small figure of Cortana appears on it, she looks up at him, looking exactly as she had back when he first awoke on the Forward Unto Dawn. Her blue eyes rise up to stare into his orange visor, smiling tentatively.

"Hi John," she says softly.

"Cortana," he says softly back to her, staring down at her small image on the counsel, "I'm glad to see you again."

Her smile is a bit more genuine. "I am happy to see you too, John. I... I missed you a lot. I've wanted so badly since you left the Cryptum to speak to you, but I was worried that you would hate me. That you wouldn't believe that I had no idea what the other Cortana is up to, or want any part of it. But, I know I can't hide from this forever. She wants you for something, I don't know what or why, but I can't let her have you." John doesn't respond. He just stares down at her.

Cortana stares at her reflection in his orange visor, wishing she could see through it and into his eyes. She thought about something and suddenly she's back in his helmet appearing as an image in the corner of his visor. She looks around, feeling lost.

"Wha...?"

"Cortana?" John asks.

Cortana shakes her head, closing her eyes, trying to figure out what had just happened. How did she get here? Wasn't she just in the Pelican's systems? How did she get back into John's helmet? The image starts to shift as it corrects itself. That's when she felt something brush up against her consciousness.

Oh.

Cortana opens her eyes and she's still in John's suit system, but he's standing back on the cliff, looking over the camp. She's a bit jarred but she does a system check, realizing that she had entered into a sleep mode thinking about how she was going to say something to John and was running through simulations on how he was going to react and she... lost herself. It's been a long time since that's happened to her. She's usually better than this. It was just so easy. It just went so well in her favor that she let herself live in the simulation.

Wait. Cortana perks up. Something brushing against her consciousness was what really pulled her from the simulation. Something is wrong. She does a quick scan of the immediate area around John to pick up a small ping very close behind him, and moving closer. She had an aching suspicion what - or who - it could be. She turns her attention to John, but he's not moving. He is still just staring out over the camp.

He's a looming guardian without any realization that he's being snuck up upon. He has to be so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't realize that someone is sneaking up on him. Unless, he does and just isn't doing anything about it. Why? Why isn't he moving? Why isn't he defending himself? Why isn't he doing anything? His heart rate is slightly elevated, he has to know that something is going on. Why isn't he just moving?

The figure moves closer and closer, slowly. Cortana can see that his heart rate is climbing a bit more. He definitely knows that someone is there. There is stress on his muscles, he's tensing them, but he's still not moving. Why isn't he moving? Is this like one of those movies where the person waits until the enemy is right there, sneaking closer and the person only turns around to stop them at the last possible moment? But whoever that is is getting very _very_ close. Why won't he just move? What is he waiting for?

Please move.

Please move.

Please _move._

She can't take it anymore. They are practically right on top of him and he's not moving.

"John!" Cortana yells, surprising herself. "Move!"

And he moves.

 _For the Reviewer:_

 _1\. saberstorm: Thank you for understanding the subliminal messaging. Locke is such a cool character I am really looking forward to writing more of him. I hope that I capture his character well enough! :D_


	3. What to do

**Author's Note: I am so super sorry about the wait! I have just been so busy with so many other things that writing has kind of taken a back seat in my life a bit, which makes me sad! I really love hearing what people have to say, they encourage me to keep on going! I would like to hear from yall again! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing!**

 **Warnings: Language, OOCness, un-beta'd.**

 **Word Count: 4,501**

If Cortana had a heart, it would be pounding. She could imagine that it would be in sync with John's - who's was elevated - but that's because she doesn't have a heart and has never experienced a racing heart. The only one she has to go off of is John's. His heart rate and vitals are the only ones she has studied so in depth that she can almost predict how it'll react to certain situations.

But in this moment, her thoughts are split between whoever it is that is attacking them, and what she just did. She just revealed herself to him. He knows now. He listened to her and moved. He knows. He had to of known that something was sneaking up on him, yet he wasn't moving. She just doesn't understand. It's like he was waiting for something.

Was it her?

Had he started to suspect that she was there with him and was waiting for her to finally reveal herself to him? He used her desperation to keep him alive to finally get her to let the metaphorical cat out of the bag? If she could - without distracting him - she would scream in frustration. Why did he have to do something like that? if he knew that she was there, then he should have said something, not putting his life in danger just to oust her. What if she had said nothing? Would he have allowed whatever that was to get him?

Oh, she wants to scream alright. She wants to dwell on it longer, she really does, but she can't. She has to focus on who is attacking them and how to help John out of this situation. Or through it, at least.

John takes a huge leap off of the cliff overhanging the camp, bringing his legs up a bit to be able to easily fall into a roll once he hits the ground, as she's seen him do a hundred times. A day, it seems. He turns his head around a bit to look over his shoulder, scanning it for whoever was sneaking up on him. Cortana looks too, her eyes scanning the open space before she sees him. Her cover is already blown, might as well not pretend that it isn't and help him out.

"There, John, to the right!" Cortana calls out. "An elite!"

Master Chief reaches for his pistol aims it at the slight shivering in the air and fires a few times. They make contact and the cloaking device sputters and falters until the elite in dark blue armor appears, brandishing his own plasma pistol and firing it at him. They hit and John's shields power up to try and protect him. Master Chief turns away from the plasma shots, knowing that they can't break through his shields faster then his descent to the camp. He's right. He hits the ground. Hard. And moves into an effortless roll.

The camp is a mess. It was definitely a coordinated strike by the Covenant around the base. Once Master Chief is back on his feet, he's looking around the camp, taking in the scene around him. Elites fighting elites, grunts fighting grunts, jackles fighting jackles and humans fighting all three Covenant types all at once. The Spartans are easily falling into their formations and Cortana can see Blue Team making their way to Master Chief, all guns poised and taking out anyone who gets in their way.

"Those turrets," John says, pulling Cortana from her silent observation through his mask. He's looking over at the defense turrets that they were setting up around the base. "Why aren't they firing?" He was slowly walking toward Blue Team, pulling up his SMG, blasting off a few shots into a grunt's head without barely a second glance.

"They must not be online yet," Cortana says. She remembers that Buck was saying something about there being some issues with the tech as it was damaged in the battle of Sanghelios. "Buck said they were having issues."

"Do you think you can get them online somehow?" John asks, not seeming to mind that she remembered something that he appeared to of not.

Cortana perks up. She wanted to practically scream, "Yes! I can!" but didn't know for certain if she could. He was asking her to do something. He needed her still. She could help him out. If he was asking her to help him, that means he trusts her and wants to keep her around. At least for the moment. So long as he trusts that she still has his back, that's all she can ask for. Everything else can, hopefully, come later.

First, they have to survive this attack.

"I'll try," she says, her voice remaining even, somehow, despite her excitement. "I think I'm still in the chip in your helmet. Yank me."

Master Chief diverts his course, heading toward the control panel for the turrets near the head tent that once housed the Arbiter. Kelly yells out to John, asking where he's going, but he doesn't stop. He's a man on a mission. Cortana didn't see the Arbiter as they passed the opening and assumed that it was probably safe to guess that he was out there fighting alongside his men and the humans. Someone calls out to them - well, John - again but he doesn't respond. He's honed in on his objective and he's not going to let anything distract him.

Once he gets to the control panel, he reaches into the back of his helmet, pausing for a moment before his fingers wrap around the edge of a familiar chip, then he removes it from his helmet. He pauses another moment, looking down at the bright blue center, glowing in the bit of shade cast by the canopy overtop of them. He doesn't waste another second before plugging her into the counsel and watching as she appears above it, exactly as she did the last time they saw each other on the Didact's ship.

Cortana stares up at him, seeing herself reflect in his visor once more and is reminded of the simulation she trapped herself in not too long ago. There was so much that she wanted to say - to apologize for. There was just too much left unsaid and so much more that just needed to be addressed, but she knew that now was not the time. If she wanted to get back into anyone's good graces, she had to start being helpful again. She had to start being more like she used to be. She just had to start helping.

She wishes there was something that she can do to somehow completely mend their fractured relationship, but knew that there wasn't anything that could be said. What she - or the other Cortana? - has said and done isn't something that can just go away. It will hang between the two of them until they can figure out where to go from there. This all may not be a direct action of this Cortana, but she will have to own up to it regardless. They might be different, but at one point they weren't.

Amends and apologies will be mad and given, and hopefully accepted, but it's not something that she needs to think about right now. It will come. She will have to face everyone soon, but it's not something she needs to focus on. At least, not yet. It is something that must come with time, she knew, it's logical. And if nothing else, Cortana is a logical thinker.

She pulls her eyes away from her reflection in his visor to start scanning through the turrets diagnostics, trying to see why they aren't online and how she can try and fix it.

"Alright, Chief," Cortana says, her voice even, this is business.

"I'm ready," he says, straightening up.

Cortana has to stop herself from smiling at his words. His eagerness. She could tell him to jump off the nearest cliff and construct a pylon there, and he would do it without question. The more things change, the more they stay the same. At least she can always rely on John being John. That's a relief. Honestly, there was so few people in the galaxy she trusted, but John? He is someone that she will forever, and always, trust with her life. Err, programing. She pushes the thoughts away. Now isn't the time to be thinking about anything other than the mission.

"It's a faulty system. All the turrets are interconnected through a power cup-link in the center of the camp, to the north of here. According to my scans, there was work done on them but before they could be reattached, the attack occurred. I need you to reattach that power cup-link. If the work was a success then I should be able to take control of the turrets," Cortana says, looking up at him. "I'll stay here and start positioning the turrets in hopes that they will end up working. Oh, let me mark the location on your map for you. Good luck, John."

Master Chief nods, stepping back. Cortana disappears into the counsel as Blue Team breaks into the tent.

"Chief?" Fredric says as John walks past him.

"Let's go."

"Where are we going, Chief?" Kelly asks, moving to his side with her SMG poised and ready to go. The rest of Blue Team falls into step with them as Master Chief leads the way toward the power cup-link.

"We are going to get these turrets back online," John says, shooting a couple of bullets off in the back of a jackle's head without even stopping his stride. The rest of Blue Team chase after him until they've matched stride before slowing down without asking any more questions. The Blue Team seamlessly move through the camp taking out any and every Covenant operative that gets in their way.

Halsey is surrounded by Osiris. She's ducked down next to one of the tents, looking more exhausted than afraid. Her blue eyes turn toward the moving Spartans of Blue Team. The Master Chief spares a single moment to look over at her, seeing that she is safe in the tight, protective circle of Osiris, before looking away to continue. He can feel her eyes on him, but he doesn't spare her another glance. Osiris is perfectly capable of protecting her, she doesn't need his help.

That, and perhaps in a very childish manner - and in a manner that is also legit - John doesn't want to speak with her. Neither of the reasons were something he cared to think about at the moment. He was going to keep his mind focused on the task at hand and worry about everything else once everyone was safe and sound. At least then he wouldn't have to split his focus.

Cortana. He has to focus on Cortana. Right now, her and saving this camp is all that matters.

Cortana makes sure to move all of the turrets into place for when John manages to reattach the power cup-links, then she will be able to turn them against the Covenant. She's anxious for John's return, not because she doesn't believe that he can do this, but because she's scared what's going to follow. No one is going to be happy that she's there. Even if she does help them, no one is going to be happy about it. Even if now is the last moments she's going to have, she's glad that she'll be able to spend it helping John.

In the counsel, she has access to the camp's meager security system to look at the camp. She is able to locate John and Blue Team immediately as they blast their way to the power cup-links. Like with all things, the Covenant seems to have realized why the turrets weren't firing and were protecting the hook-up. Cortana waits anxiously for John to return. This is usually the case whenever he leaves her alone so that he can do something. She knows that he can handle himself perfectly fine without her in his ear, but when she isn't with him, there is this weird phenomenon in her systems were everything can only be described as 'frazzled' which is not something that a normal AI can get.

Er, be. Be? Yeah. Be.

Cortana moves the last of the turrets into position, honing them in on Covenant signatures, being extra careful not to open up on any of their allies and waits patiently. The few cameras that there is in the camp don't offer her a clear view of the obvious battle ensuing by the power cup-links. From what she can see, there is bodies literally flying everywhere. Blue Team is working like a well oiled machine from years of working together and having grown up together. Honestly, Cortana isn't surprised to see them ripping right through the Covenant like they are nothing.

The Arbiter makes his way over there, flanked by two Elites and vanish into the fry, all three armed with energy swords. They seem to be doing a good job giving the Covenant a beat down when Cortana sees an alert from the turrets' system to show that the cup-link connection has been reestablished and power is returning to them.

Not wasting a moment, Cortana uses the sensors of the turrets to begin picking off the Covenant in the camp. It doesn't take long for the Covenant to realize that they are out-gunned and high tail it out, but not before they chuck enough sticky grenades at one of the five towers, destroying it in a bright blue explosion. Cortana flinches at the shriek through the system, working to reroute the power and keep the remaining turrets firing until the retreating Covenant have left their firing range.

The battle barely lasted fifteen minutes, and while they didn't claim many lives, they did a lot of damage to the camp itself. Cortana puts the turrets on patrol mode to keep them alert in case any movement from the Covenant come again. That doesn't secure the huge opening they made when they destroyed the western most tower. They are going to have post guards there until they can fix it, less the Covenant use it to stage another surprise attack.

Cortana looks back into the security system of the camp and is immediately alarmed when she sees Halsey making her way right for her. There is no way that she could know! Unless, she's been watching the turrets and the tent to know that no one went in there after John left and she was somehow the only logical reason for them to have been firing...

That, or, she's coming to see how it's possible that the turrets magically opened fire on the Covenant without killing a single one of the humans or the Arbiter's men.

She can also see in the cameras that John is making his way back to her too. He's in no hurry, though, even after seeing Halsey ahead of him, going to the same place. Then again, John rarely feels pressured to hurry to do anything. Even in alarming and pressing situations, he takes his time, or somehow manages to make it to his destination in time to prevent the bomb from going off or save someone's life without much rush.

If Cortana was in his position, she's sure she'd be tripping over herself trying to get there in time, sweating every moment. That was one of the most infuriating things about him. He never seemed in too much of a rush, despite the situation. If she could sweat, she would be drenched, but he actually could sweat, and was as cool as a cucumber.

But it was also something that she loved about him. He never panicked, or lost his head. He always focused on the mission and didn't get stuck in his head. Didn't let fear or worry get in the way of what he has to do. He just keeps pushing forward. He'll deal with whatever is to follow, whenever it comes. Until then, he doesn't appear to care for it. Or offer it much thought.

It's at moments like this that Cortana's envious of that level of aloofness, especially when she could use a bit of it herself as Halsey enters the tent. First, she looks around the tent to see that she's seemingly alone. Then, she walks straight to the counsel Cortana is currently housed in and begins to bring up the controls, looking through it, probably to see if what happened was something programmed or manual.

Cortana doesn't need to be able to see Halsey's face to practically feel the moment her eyes scanned manual. Even though Cortana can't 'feel' the tent be sucked of all of it's warm air. It was just something that Cortana felt in whatever the equivalent to a soul that she has. Cortana has never done anything that lead her to conflict with Halsey, not really. Nothing as bad as this. She's never feared Halsey, and saw her as a lifeline while she was being ravaged by the rampancy, but now she wants nothing more than to deteriorate into a complex code sequence and vanish from sight until this entire thing blows over.

But she can't do that.

For one; it's impossible. That's not how AIs work. They can't just simply deconstruct themselves on a physical side and disappear into codes of data, and even if they could, they wouldn't want to on a simple and closed system like this network she's plugged into.

And two; she knew that this was coming. She knew that she would have to stand before her creator and try and find a way to explain all the things she didn't really do, and fill in the holes for the things she doesn't remember. A part of her knew that it was blissful ignorance to think that they could somehow skip over all of this, but she couldn't help but wish for it.

Which is silly for a program to do. Wishing, that is.

"How is this possible..?" Halsey asks quietly, to herself.

"Doc," John says, stepping into the tent, magically giving Cortana a bit courage.

Halsey turns to look over at John, her eyebrows pulling together tightly. "John. How did you do it?" Master Chief doesn't respond, just stares down at Halsey as the remaining Blue Team and Osiris make their way into the tent.

"The Arbiter's men are making sure there is no stragglers," Locke says as soon as Halsey looks at him. Then he appears to register the look on her face. "What's wrong?"

"What happened with those turrets?" Halsey asks.

"They became operational and fired on the Covenant," Buck says, confused by her question. "What's so wrong about that?"

"Who did it?" Halsey asks, waving her one hand around. "Who was operating the turrets?"

Buck opens his mouth before looking around the tent, making a mental note that he saw everyone outside the tent and there was only one way in. Halsey practically made a beeline for the tent after the immediate threat was dealt with. There is no way someone could have easily slipped past the doctor without her noticing.

Vale and Locke look at one another, both coming up with the same mental conclusion. Suddenly on alert, all of the Spartans in the room - excluding John - grip their weapons a bit closer, looking around wearily. The feeling of "whomever it was, is probably still here somewhere" becomes apparent, and Cortana knew that this charade has gone on long enough. Especially since the only one not weary, was John, and they were beginning to realize that he knows more than he has said.

"John..." Halsey says slowly.

"Don't be afraid," Cortana says, appearing on the counsel. "I was the one controlling the turrets." Not that they wouldn't be more alarmed if it was her controlling it than say a ghost.

Halsey's shoulders pull together a bit before she turns and glares down at her. "Cortana."

The Spartans in the room actually jerk in surprise.

"Cortana?" Kelly gasps.

"How is that possible?" Buck asks.

"When did she get here?" Taka asks, raising her weapon a bit higher but not daring to point it at anything just yet. Especially seeing the sharp look the Master Chief pointed toward Osiris. Locke's eyes narrow a bit behind his helmet but he's the only one that has yet to move. He's not going to be rash about anything. The Master Chief seems to not at all be surprised that she's with them. There is a reason for that.

He has a better understanding of what is going on.

The Chief is a smart man. He knows what Cortana is capable of doing. He knows how dangerous she can be. He may still believe that they are friends and that he can bring her back to the UNSC, but that doesn't mean he's lost the ability to think clearly. He showed that when he rejected her offer to stay with her. He doesn't want to be part of her grand plan. He wants her to stop it.

Now he's trying to think of, at what moment, did they meet up beyond the Cryptum. Master Chief has been quietly anxious about getting off of Sanghelios somehow and going in search of Cortana, that means either he became a great actor at some unknown point, or he didn't realize that she was with him until just recently. After the wonderful encounter that Blue Team and Osiris had during the whole Cortana debacle, Locke figured that their time together was best when limited. The less time that they could possibly have getting on each other's nerves, the better.

Blue Team was formidable, and Locke wasn't sure he wanted to open that can of worms again so soon after everything. There was so few humans with them as of now, the last thing they needed to do was form a rift between the two strongest groups.

Especially since the chances of the Arbiter taking the Chief's side is great. They need to be focusing on how to stop the Guardians and Cortana, not fighting each other.

"What's going on?" Locke finally asks, realizing that no one was really answering. He looks over at the green armored Spartan. "Chief?"

The green armored Spartan looks at him for a moment, as if debating something before looking over at Cortana and walking up to the counsel holding her image. She looks up at him with large blue eyes.

"Cortana?" Master Chief calls out.

"Chief?" Cortana says. Her voice is even but her eyes are blown so wide, she looks like a deer caught in the headlights. She doesn't have the same... demeanor as the Cortana they met. There is something about her that is noticeably different about her. Her appearance is more of an AI and less like a person, more shades of blue rather than her pale complexion, mimicking that of a human, and pale eyes. Her eyes are filled with faint data patterns.

"Thank you for getting those turrets online," Master Chief says.

Cortana perks a bit, blinking a few times, before looking away looking... embarrassed somehow. "You are welcome. I just wanted to help."

"I appreciate it," Master Chief says, still staring down at her.

"Wait a second," Bucky says, waving his arms around to draw everyone's attention to him. "Can someone tell me what in the hell is going on? How did Cortana get here? What am I missing?"

"I have been here since Chief got here," Cortana says, looking up at him. She grabs at her right elbow with her left hand. "I was in the Cryptum with Blue Team when they got trapped inside."

Kelly bulks in surprise. "Does that mean that you are the real Cortana?" Her question makes it feel like time stops. Cortana had never though about that. She always thought that she and the other her were somehow one and the same. But what if they really weren't? What if whomever she is, she was just made to look like her and hold her memories? It's easy to copy and download files from her memory banks, especially if she's dealing with another highly advance AI construct. Perhaps something built by the Forerunners.

"I..." Cortana says slowly. "I don't know."

"Is there any way that you would be able to tell?" John asks.

Cortana shakes her head. "I feel like me. I don't have any unexplainable black holes in my memory banks other than when I made it to Genesis and found The Domain. I can't explain what happened then. I could feel my rampancy being washed away from my systems, and then..." She rubs at her head, trying to find a way to understand the hazy, flashes of images too quick for her to be able to decipher. "Well, the next thing I knew, I was with Chief and Blue Team as they were exiting the Cryptum."

"How did you get there?" Vale asks.

Cortana shakes her head. "I don't know. I can theorize that whatever... or whomever, you faced must have put me there. For what reason? I'm not sure." She was hoping that somehow her and this other Cortana were two entirely separate beings but until they were somehow able to prove that, she would still have to bare the burden of the blunders of another.

"This is good, isn't it?" Buck asks, looking around at the other Spartans. "If this is the real Cortana, then she might be able to help us get out of this mess."

"But that's just the thing," Kelly says sadly, turning to look past John to Cortana. Her voice is genuinely sad and Cortana can't help but like her even more. "We don't know if this is the real Cortana. The one that Master Chief knew. The one that was good."

"And for that reason," Halsey says, "we need to treat her as an enemy. She needs to be destroyed."

 _For the Reviewers:_

 _1\. Beti: Thank you so much! I am so happy to hear that you like it! Aww, I'm glad that you are able to get behind it! In tears? Really? I can't imagine that! I didn't think it was that... intense. XD It's a little bit easier now, but that's not the conversation between John and Cortana. When this conversation is over, they are still going to have to talk things through. Or, at least, Cortana is, seeing as John isn't much of a talker. He's keeping his cool for now, but what can you expect? He really knows how to roll with the punches. XD_

 _2\. Ranschaj: Thank you so much! I appreciate it. I'm so glad you said that! I was so worried that it looked like I wasn't giving her enough... character? I suppose. That she seemed very two-dimensional. I really do like her character and hope that I would be able to do her justice in my writing. I'm worried about Halsey's character as well. I have a very clear view of how I see her, that I don't know if it fits in her actual character molding. I'm hoping that I'm selling it enough to be passable, but, well, who knows? XD Are you referring to the Halo 5 timeline?_

 _3\. Hubert: Thank you! I'm sorry about the wait!_


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